Colorado WRX 2023

[Dancin]

Golfetail.com has the crazy Evnroll tour stroke on sale for $55 (the putter face is 1 inch behind the shaft). I played around with one a few years ago when they first came out. Pretty cool training aid and it is legal to use in tournaments on the course. It helps if you are pulling putts or if you are decelerating. At that price I'm tempted to get one for times when I am going through struggling to make the 6 foot and closer putts as it makes those much straighter. If your miss tends to be a push as a righty, avoid it at all costs though as it is much harder to close the face than a regular putter.

[pseudoswede]

20 minutes ago, Dancin said:

Golfetail.com has the crazy Evnroll tour stroke on sale for $55 (the putter face is 1 inch behind the shaft). I played around with one a few years ago when they first came out. Pretty cool training aid and it is legal to use in tournaments on the course. It helps if you are pulling putts or if you are decelerating. At that price I'm tempted to get one for times when I am going through struggling to make the 6 foot and closer putts as it makes those much straighter. If your miss tends to be a push as a righty, avoid it at all costs though as it is much harder to close the face than a regular putter.

 

Hot damn. My putting miss is all the time a pull, and I have been decelerating recently on short putts. My only concern here is that I already have a short take away.

Edited July 21, 2023 by pseudoswede

[pseudoswede]

Some insane weather yesterday afternoon on the south side of town. As I turned north onto I-25 from Lincoln, I couldn't see past County Line because it was raining that hard. I had gotten notifications for hail, so I high-tailed it to where 470 curves over 25 and hid at the underpass for about 5 minutes (along with a few other cars).

 

When I got to South Suburban, there was water everywhere on the course. They banned riding carts for the rest of the day, and they also closed the back 9. As much water that remained on the fairways and roughs, the greens drained super quick and were still incredibly fast. That caught me off-guard on #1, so I 3-putted that. Then I rattled off six straight pars, only to 4-putt #8 and 3-putt #9 for a disappointing 41.

[deadsolid...shank]

Played the back nine at Buffalo Run yesterday. I’ve always liked the course even though it’s always been a bit scruffy. But scruffy would be a big improvement over conditions right now. 
 

It’s really bad. I know they’re doing irrigation work or something, but even away from the working areas there is a ton of really bad spots. It was disappointing. 

[Dancin]

24 minutes ago, deadsolid...shank said:

Played the back nine at Buffalo Run yesterday. I’ve always liked the course even though it’s always been a bit scruffy. But scruffy would be a big improvement over conditions right now. 
 

It’s really bad. I know they’re doing irrigation work or something, but even away from the working areas there is a ton of really bad spots. It was disappointing. 

I'm hoping the drainage project does something meaningful to help with the salt deposits that keep coming up and killing the grass, because I really like the layout. They've tried different grasses and all sorts of stuff to deal with that.

[drn92]

6 hours ago, 007iron said:

Will be interesting how the USGA feels this week went. It's the first ever championship held on a military facility which created some interesting challenges I'm sure. The tipped out yardage is at least 7,300 (and one scorecard I see online shows 7,570) so I think it could be a possible host of the boys junior, either the men's or women's mid-am and maybe even either fourball championships?

I think it would play too short for any non-junior tournament, even tipped out.  ~7300 is the longest I've seen it play.

 

drn92

[Joelness]

On 7/21/2023 at 8:49 AM, 007iron said:

Will be interesting how the USGA feels this week went. It's the first ever championship held on a military facility which created some interesting challenges I'm sure. The tipped out yardage is at least 7,300 (and one scorecard I see online shows 7,570) so I think it could be a possible host of the boys junior, either the men's or women's mid-am and maybe even either fourball championships?

 

I really need to play that blue course again, it's really spectacular.

 

I'm curious, did they check your trunk for weapons all week?

[007iron]

9 hours ago, Joelness said:

 

I really need to play that blue course again, it's really spectacular.

 

I'm curious, did they check your trunk for weapons all week?

they did about 1/3 of the time. Every day at the gate you have to present IDs for anyone over 18 in the car and then they ask if you have any weapons or drugs. Some days I had to roll down my back window and pop the trunk. 

[drn92]

On 7/22/2023 at 9:58 AM, Joelness said:

 

I really need to play that blue course again, it's really spectacular.

 

I'm curious, did they check your trunk for weapons all week?

Great course, and a really nice setup with 36 holes between the Blue and Silver.  I bet I have 300+ rounds between the two courses (of course, I have been playing on and off down there since 1988 ...).

 

drn92

[thaar]

Our men's club at The Burb had our 2-day Calcutta team event this weekend. I struggled a bit Saturday, but my partner and I did a good job picking each other up and finished the day T1. Sunday, my partner struggled quite a bit on the back 9 because of the heat, but I played pretty strong all day with a couple birdies and.....A HOLE-IN-ONE! Hole 13, 187yds, flew the flag by less than a foot then hopped back in! Par 3's were my friend yesterday - I was -4 on them. We ended up tied for 3rd, one stroke off the lead which is a bit of a bummer since there were several instances of us leaving shots on the course, but still a fun and unforgettable weekend!

 

[007iron]

Let's go!!!!!

 

I grew up at SS but haven't played it in a decade plus. That's the old front nine #4? That par 3 heading back away from County Line you don't want to be beyond the flag? Awesome awesome!

[pseudoswede]

Speaking of people complaining about internal OB, City Park sure has a lot of them. I swear the wind directions changed drastically every few minutes. But what was more shocking was that we teed off at noon, and we were done by 4:25!

 

I shot a 43-37 where I missed three birdie putts inside 10 feet and I couldn't keep my driver on the planet (hard push right). Case in point...

 

#13 - Driving directly into a stiff breeze; my intention was to aim at the lake and trust my draw. Kind of glad I missed.

 

#16 - I was aiming at the 150 marker on #15 on purpose. Oops! I stayed in-bounds by 18 inches.

 

On #4, I pushed it hard right into the driving range. My provisional stayed in-bounds by about a foot. On #9, same thing happened except both stayed in-bounds by a few feet (phew).

[Dancin]

That annoys me even more now that I heard you played in 4:25 when I was out at the first tee time of the day yesterday and it took 4:40 because the idiot course let the maintenance crew jump in front of the first tee time for 18 holes while they were still sending 9 hole groups off the back 9 at 2 hours past the first tee time. Sure let them play the front 9 but by letting them also play the back 9 they added both a 25 minute wait on 10 tee and turned the back 9 into a slog waiting on every hole. So annoyed at City Park for allowing that. It turned an enjoyable round from the front 9 into a horrid pace on the back.

 

Heh. I never considered driving into 11 fairway from 13 tee box. I just hit my 5 wood to the center of the fairway and had about the same distance you did. They probably should make that internal OOB though because it does allow you to bomb a driver without worry into those coming up 11 and likely unaware they even need to worry about that. You were trying to aim down the other fairway on 16? ha. That is another shot I have not considered.

 

Played City Park Sunday morning just because I saw a tee time open up and wanted to get out there since the other two times I played the new version it was still growing in and settling. While it is orders of magnitude better than the old version, there are still quite a few problems with it that I feel a better architect could have done a lot better of a job. On a positive note, I do really like the green complexes. Lots of nice slopes, kickers and backstops. The routing is more annoying the more I play it. Granted it's a tight area to fit 18 holes into, but the huge walks back and forth between some of the greens and tees is ridiculous.

 

Hole 11 is a poor design at least for the highest combo tees. A tip combo tee should be targeted to low handicap golfers that can't drive it 300 yards any more. Unfortunately they put the combo on the tips for this hole. From the tips it requires about a 260 yard drive just to reach the fairway.  To have a reasonable shot at getting to the green in two, you also need to get an angle on the right side which requires carrying water about 230 yards and hit it at least 280 to have a mid iron into the raised green. The guys who can drive it 300 will be in the middle of the fairway with an 8 iron or less into the green. If you can't hit it that far you are either blocked on the left by trees requiring a hook off a lie with the ball below your feet or you are hitting much more club from where the fairway just about starts. The tip combo tee should not be on the tips on this hole or they should bring the fairway back 20 yards left of the water so a shorter hitter can get the fairway bounce and distance to run the ball out to the right side of the fairway. I've played this hole 3 times now all from the tips (I had tried playing the combo tees for the first time thinking I would get a break on it before realizing they had it on the tips for that hole) and if I ever play it again, I'm just going to assume it's a par 5 and play for bogey.

[ASak10]

37 minutes ago, pseudoswede said:

Speaking of people complaining about internal OB, City Park sure has a lot of them.

 

Not only are there a lot, they are really stupid for the most part.  

 

7 is really dumb that internal OB is to the left.  I get that the tee box for 8 is right there but I don't know, maybe don't design a driveable par 4 with a blind green and dogleg left and then put a tee box right next to it.  I mean it's only a 3 wood to reach half the time!  You expect people to lay up?  

 

13 is really dumb with their internal OB.  If you go from 13 to 14, it's OB.  But if you are going the other way and hit it from 14 back onto 13, it's not internal OB!

 

Drives me batty.  I hate it.  

 

I think last time I played 13 I just went 4i-4i onto the green. Missed the eagle putt but easy tap in birdie.  I've stopped hitting driver on that hole.  

[thaar]

4 hours ago, 007iron said:

Let's go!!!!!

 

I grew up at SS but haven't played it in a decade plus. That's the old front nine #4? That par 3 heading back away from County Line you don't want to be beyond the flag? Awesome awesome!

 

Yep, that's the one!

[pseudoswede]

2 hours ago, Dancin said:

Heh. I never considered driving into 11 fairway from 13 tee box. I just hit my 5 wood to the center of the fairway and had about the same distance you did. They probably should make that internal OOB though because it does allow you to bomb a driver without worry into those coming up 11 and likely unaware they even need to worry about that. You were trying to aim down the other fairway on 16? ha. That is another shot I have not considered.

 

My drive on 13 was a mistake that ended up in a really good spot. I hit my second shot (4-iron) just a bit closed; otherwise, it might've rolled up on the front, but I would've been left with a 50-60 foot putt straight uphill. Instead, I hit an open LW over the bunker to about 6 feet and left the downhill birdie putt short by 6 inches (natch). I'm rather surprised that there isn't OB on the right side because I imagine a lot of people slice it onto 11. I kind of see the reasoning why OB is on the left because they don't want people bailing that far to avoid the water/junk. 

 

I almost think that they should put OB on the right side of 16 because the 15th fairway is such an inviting shot, especially anyone who plays a draw. If you can keep your ball on the "right side" of 15th fairway. You will be left with a decent view of the green with 210-ish to the front edge without much interference from the trees.

 

That is a good observation about 11. Another rant: why have two similar looking colors for consecutive tee markers? Along with bronze/gold, they should've made the next two tee boxes silver and platinum! And the tiny ring of color on the tee markers is just not cutting it.

[Dancin]

If I ever play City Park again I'll have to look at that shot from the 15 fairway. I had always assumed you'd have a blind shot through the trees but there does seem to be an opening at driver distance from 16 tee. Granted the tee shot from 16 is really pretty easy if you drop down clubs and take the left bunker out of play and play it as the par 5 it is. But the fairway on 15 is wide open for a driver off the tee and if there is an opening back into 16 that would be a good play.

Edited July 24, 2023 by Dancin

[birdiemachine]

They didn’t have those internal ob when they first opened, so I’m assuming it was in response to some issues. Nobody seems to pay attention to the one on 7, as I see people playing their approaches from near the 8 tee frequently. 
 

can i tell you how much I dislike 13?  In the city amateur a few years ago I shot 77/78 or something like that. Tripled 13 both days. Today, shot 74. Pushed 5 wood right into hazard and bogied 13. Should be a relatively easy 4 but I probably only hit that fairway 50% of the time. Going to hit 7 iron off the tee next time I play it. 
 

edit:  I would add an internal ob right of first tee as I’ve almost had my head taken off  on tee for second hole from people shanking their second shots a few times after slicing their tee shots into second hole. Also, if there is a decent wind that makes your tee shot uncomfortable on 10, just aim way right onto 18 fairway. Easy approach from there. 

Edited July 25, 2023 by birdiemachine
Add

[pseudoswede]

1 hour ago, birdiemachine said:

Also, if there is a decent wind that makes your tee shot uncomfortable on 10, just aim way right onto 18 fairway. Easy approach from there. 

 

Hold my beer 🤣

 

 

I had no intention of hitting to 18. I said "aim for the right fairway bunker and trust my draw". Then I duffed my approach.

[pseudoswede]

Also, how many people actually follow the rule of the internal OB? My guess is that 99% of the hackers that are out there just for sh*ts and grins ignore the OB and just play where the ball is (except maybe if the ball is on the range).

[ASak10]

16 hours ago, pseudoswede said:

Also, how many people actually follow the rule of the internal OB? My guess is that 99% of the hackers that are out there just for sh*ts and grins ignore the OB and just play where the ball is (except maybe if the ball is on the range).

Oh I’ve seen this firsthand. Quite honestly I think a lot of them simply don’t even know or realize it’s there. I played with a guy who chipped in for eagle on 7….after everything died down I  simply pointed to the white stakes he was outside of, mostly to see his reaction. It was priceless. We just laughed and moved on because who cares, what was he going to do go back to the tee and hit again? No chance. 

 

[pseudoswede]

6 minutes ago, ASak10 said:

Oh I’ve seen this firsthand. Quite honestly I think a lot of them simply don’t even know or realize it’s there. I played with a guy who chipped in for eagle on 7….after everything died down I  simply pointed to the white stakes he was outside of, mostly to see his reaction. It was priceless. We just laughed and moved on because who cares, what was he going to do go back to the tee and hit again? No chance. 

 

 

FRGC has instituted a season-long local rule. If you go OB off the tee, you can either re-tee (like a provisional) or you can simply drop at the point of entry and be lying 4 (so like a modified lateral hazard). Pretty surprised how many people in our league take the latter option. This is basically to eliminate people who always think their ball is in-bounds, find it OB, then have to do the "drive/walk of shame" back to the tee.

[CDM]

10 hours ago, pseudoswede said:

"drive/walk of shame" 

 

I refer to that as 18 holes of golf 🤣

[Joelness]

I love these City Park discussions. There's a lot going on with the new design, internal OB, and some shots that I believe the prudent play is absolutely bailing out on another hole.

 

I believe that they are absolutely using internal OB for safety reasons. I hear the arguments against it but I have to disagree with @ASak10 as I agree with all of it out there. There could potentially be more like on 13 and 16 but I think that might be too much. I have no idea about the normal person but what else could the golf course do besides internal OB? Ultimately I think the only way to truly stop people from playing other holes is trees. Unfortunately the logistics of doing that also wouldn't work for a while since they need to be planted and grow for a decade to even think about being a playability differential. As for the specifics of what I play like in the Denver City:

 

7: absolutely rip driver but that internal OB is really close to the correct line to the green. Slight mis-hit left and you're screwed. I thought I hit one OB on Sunday this year but it flew into the bathroom and everyone flipped out when I got there, lol.

10: @birdiemachine is right on. I rip driver as hard as I can and make sure my miss is right if anywhere. Saturday I was right at the end of 18 fairway with an 80 yarder, Sunday I got it to the front edge for an easy bird.

11: Yeah, I think it's the toughest tee shot @Dancin. No bones about it. I think 4 is debatably harder but I think it's 11.

13: I have never thought about ripping driver into 11. I haven't looked at if it's actually high % or not. Seems 10x easier to just hit something 210 and take your relatively risk-free 2nd from 240. At least that way you're almost never making bogey or worse unless you can't chip it onto the green.

16: Sunday of the city I literally aimed at the trees and hit driver as hard as I could thinking I'm fine if it goes either way. ofc it went straight. I disagree with playing it like a 5 and planning it as a three-shotter on the tee. There's not a lot of danger there and 95% of the time when you miss you'll at least have a third shot at the green.

Edited July 26, 2023 by Joelness

[Joelness]

11 hours ago, pseudoswede said:

 

FRGC has instituted a season-long local rule. If you go OB off the tee, you can either re-tee (like a provisional) or you can simply drop at the point of entry and be lying 4 (so like a modified lateral hazard). Pretty surprised how many people in our league take the latter option. This is basically to eliminate people who always think their ball is in-bounds, find it OB, then have to do the "drive/walk of shame" back to the tee.

 

The walk of shame is a right of passage. If you have not done it, you haven't played enough golf.

 

Hopefully it only takes once to learn and hit a f****** provisional. I have never understood the big deal. If your ball is in then it's a free shot to practice what went wrong. FYI - I literally tried to hit one on the first tee today (10) and had the guy stop me in the US Am Qual. Those of you that don't want to do it.... f****** get over it

Edited July 26, 2023 by Joelness

[Dancin]

11 hours ago, Joelness said:

 

The walk of shame is a right of passage. If you have not done it, you haven't played enough golf.

 

Hopefully it only takes once to learn and hit a f****** provisional. I have never understood the big deal. If your ball is in then it's a free shot to practice what went wrong. FYI - I literally tried to hit one on the first tee today (10) and had the guy stop me in the US Am Qual. Those of you that don't want to do it.... f****** get over it

Agree. I only had to do it once when the other players were all saying oh don't worry we'll find it. I never allowed that to happen again in a tournament. What argument did the other guy say in the qualifier? It literally is your right to hit a provisional and they have no say over it.

[Joelness]

1 hour ago, Dancin said:

Agree. I only had to do it once when the other players were all saying oh don't worry we'll find it. I never allowed that to happen again in a tournament. What argument did the other guy say in the qualifier? It literally is your right to hit a provisional and they have no say over it.

 

Exactly, if there is even a slight question I hit one. 

 

In this case it was the CGA starter as they had a designated spotter out there that saw my ball in bounds so totally cool.

Edited July 26, 2023 by Joelness

[bobbyclampett!!]

I’m hearing early rumors that the CGA am players did not like Rain Dance. I saw 11 guys DNF. And that was with playing 7800, not 8400, great weather, and playing native areas as lateral hazards. Can you imagine 8400, wind, and native area=lost ball? Pure carnage. Probably a way better match play course than a stroke play course. Saw one of the guys who DNF after he made the cut and was in the hunt at -3 (with three 7s over the first two days) walked off after finishing the front nine on Saturday bogey, bogey, double, double. Anyone else hearing anything?

[deadsolid...shank]

6 hours ago, bobbyclampett!! said:

I’m hearing early rumors that the CGA am players did not like Rain Dance. I saw 11 guys DNF. And that was with playing 7800, not 8400, great weather, and playing native areas as lateral hazards. Can you imagine 8400, wind, and native area=lost ball? Pure carnage. Probably a way better match play course than a stroke play course. Saw one of the guys who DNF after he made the cut and was in the hunt at -3 (with three 7s over the first two days) walked off after finishing the front nine on Saturday bogey, bogey, double, double. Anyone else hearing anything?

I haven’t talked to my buddy who played. I’m sure he probably wasn’t real enamored as I think he was at the very bottom. But at least he came back and played his second round. But after you and Joel and said where they we were going to play it distance wise I think we knew it would be a problem. Hitting it “only” 280ish just didn’t have much chance of success there. I usually see him at league on Wednesdays, but I think we’re the last tee time this week so he could be out before I even get there. But if I see him I’ll ask about it. 

[bobbyclampett!!]

3 hours ago, deadsolid...shank said:

I haven’t talked to my buddy who played. I’m sure he probably wasn’t real enamored as I think he was at the very bottom. But at least he came back and played his second round. But after you and Joel and said where they we were going to play it distance wise I think we knew it would be a problem. Hitting it “only” 280ish just didn’t have much chance of success there. I usually see him at league on Wednesdays, but I think we’re the last tee time this week so he could be out before I even get there. But if I see him I’ll ask about it. 

Will be interesting to see what he says. Sources now saying it was miserably slow because of all the lost balls, which has been my experience out there in general play if you play later in the day behind a bunch of groups.